ASUMH concludes $1.5 million project

Arkansas State University Mountain Home Chancellor Dr. Robin Myers, left, takes Calvin Czeschin, right, on a tour of the school’s vocational center, housed in a former automobile dealership Czeschin donated to the school. The center had a ribbon cutting ceremony for an expansion of the facility made possible by Baxter International, Inc.(Photo: JOSH DOOLEY/The Baxter Bulletin)Buy Photo

Students in the mechatronics program at Arkansas State University-Mountain Home Technical Center will benefit from a Baxter International, Inc., $1.5 million project at the college, aiming at enhancing technical skills for potential employees.

Jeff Gunn, plant manager for Baxter International Inc., held onto a welding torch Wednesday to cut a red ribbon to officially conclude the company’s three-month-old construction and equipment project to expand ASUMH’s Technical Center. The company talked about expanding technical training in the area years ago.

“We have vested interest in it, but overall, it will help the community,” Gunn said.

The company’s presence with Mountain Home dates back more than 50 years ago.

John O’Malley, a spokesperson for Baxter International, said in a statement that “as a company with a long history of producing high-quality, critical medical products, Baxter has been happy (to) work with ASUMH on its Tech Center expansion over the past year ... It's great to see students in the area get exposure to equipment and training that could one day contribute to saving and sustaining patient lives worldwide."

The expansion is on the north and west side of the Technical Center, The Bulletin reported Sept. 6 — 4,300-square-feet were expected to be added to the approximately 21,700-square-foot facility. The total square foot area is about 26,000.

The project includes a machining center on the side of the room, The Bulletin reported, and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and robotics in the front.

A total of 200 students attend the Technical Center — 85 of these students are in the mechatronics program. Ten machines were purchased, including computer numeric controls. More equipment is expected to be installed in the facility.

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Baxter International, Inc., plant manager Jeff Gunn uses a torch Wednesday to cut the ribbon on a $1.5 million expansion of the Arkansas State University Mountain-Home Technical Center. The expansion was made possible by Baxter International.(Photo: JOSH DOOLEY/The Baxter Bulletin)

The Bulletin reported, “Mechatronics is the combination of electronics and the use of mechanization, which could be robots or just automated equipment that’s not actually a robot but at least has movements and the use of a programmable logic controller.”

Someone with that skillset can troubleshoot or work on equipment, according to The Bulletin’s archives, and the job outlook for people with a mechatronics degree “is actually very good in (the) area.”

People with these technical skills are able to diagnose a programming or electrical problem.

More than 300 gathered in front of the Technical Center during the ribbon-cutting ceremony while ASUMH Chancellor Robin Myers introduced some of the officials who stopped by to support the opening of the facility, including State Rep. Nelda Speaks, Mountain Home Mayor Joe Dillard and ASU System President Chuck Welch. Myers later thanked his staff.

“We’re really excited about the completion of this project,” Myers told The Bulletin.

The Baxter Lab project is helping people getting higher-paying jobs, he said. Planning of the project has been going on for two years.

When he got hired about five years ago, Welch and Myers talked about the future of the institution. They concluded there was going to be an increase need to have technical programs to conduct workforce training. ASUMH at the time wasn’t doing that sort of training.

Welch told The Bulletin Myers said it was his priority to get a technical center up and running.

“I don’t think any of us expected him to be able to do this much this quickly,” Welch said. “Now we have a facility that is state-of-the-art with enrollments and revenues that are exceeding our projections, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the workforce development and training that we’re doing on this campus today.”

For the college, this means endless opportunities for growth and expansion from both enrollment and resources standpoints, he added.